No Calorie Donuts

I went to the grocery store and saw these scrumptious looking pre-St. Patrick's Day donuts:

Just looking at them made me experience a sugar high and no I didn't purchase any.

I sent the picture to my St. Patrick's Day born daughter though.

A sweet gift with no messy calories to regret!

What 51 Looks Like

....to me.

I still have braces.
11 months into my 10-14 month estimated treatment .

Two gifts from Maria

Hummingbird wind chime

Gardening gloves.
(Wonder if she got the idea from
Wonderful Husband?)
Time to get my gardening on!

I'm still taller than Youngest Sweetie.
(Of course my granddaughter is 6 months old.)

I take every day that I'm not the shortest person in the family as a win for me!

51 is looking/feeling pretty good so far!

Our Son's Birthday

Our son is 23 years old today! Happy Birthday "Evil Genius!" We love ya!

He is our first child. Giving birth to him was grueling. 26 hours of labor. (I guess my body didn't know what it was doing the first time around.)

We heard in child birthing class that most first born children wouldn't be arriving on the due date. That would have been fine with us since my due date was also our fifth wedding anniversary. He was born on my due date.

Happy anniversary to us. (For the next many years we celebrated "our anniversary" at Chuck E. Cheese, bowling alleys, etc.) And yet it was ok since those years have flown by and are over. Ha!

Our son is and always has been a kind person. He always communicated with us, didn't gossip about others...just a nice guy.

So imagine my surprise a few years ago when he made a confession to me.

He remembered being so angry with me when he was in elementary school, that to get back at me...are you ready??

He took all his clean socks from his sock drawer, unfolded them, and threw them in his dirty clothes hamper.

So that's when I nicknamed him "Evil Genius!" The satisfaction he must have felt, knowing that I was washing clean laundry! Man, he got me good!

I thank God for our son.

I pray for him daily asking God to protect him, guide him, and grant him wisdom while he looks for a math teaching position. I'm excited to see where he travels in life.

Celebration (& WLW Week 2)

This past Monday was my 49th birthday and because of my scheduled meeting on Monday night it turned into a three day celebration. It began with an early dinner at Outback on Saturday. (Since Sunday was Mother's Day we wanted to avoid huge crowds.) My birthday dinner was delicioussssss!

Sunday was Mother's Day and I received my red geraniums that I put in planters on both sides of my front door. It's the official date that annuals can be planted in our area without worry (supposedly) of a freeze in the future. We did have a cold front come through I think from our "friendly neighbors to the north" (Canada) and were warned of the possibility of a frost. Mother Nature...you used to be our friend! The geraniums survived. Or else they froze and still look good. No, I think they survived.

Monday was quiet. Once everyone arrived home, dinner was put on the table and I received my birthday gifts. The book, "The Blind Side." (Loved the movie and am looking forward to reading the book.) And Wonderful Husband gave me a digital camera. I opened it and said, "Yes! Now I can put pictures on my blog!" He looked at me and said, "That's why you wanted a camera?" and then he started laughing!

Hey it could happen!

Then I ran out the door to my meeting.

So get ready world. I'm thinking about snapping pictures occasionally and will be posting them on this blog.

And my Weight Loss Wednesdays Week 2 update is something that I've learned from celebrating myself for three days in a row. I gave myself license to celebrate ALL the days of the week and gained .5 lbs. Time for me to re-focus on healthy food choices and more water.

Starting. Right. Now.

Goodbye Teen Years

There is not a teenager in our home today. There is not a teenager in our family today. Our daughter is 20 years old today!

Happy Birthday Young Sweetie! We love ya!

She is our second child. Giving birth to her was much easier (read, quicker) than the first time giving birth. I guess my body knew what it was doing the second time around.

She was born five days after my due date. (Letting me know that my life was not my own but was now on her schedule!) It was St. Patrick's Day and I think of her as our special Irish gift since my great grandfather immigrated from Ireland with his five brothers many years ago.

Years ago, the preschool children were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. There were the usual answers of: policeman, firefighter, teacher, etc. Our daughter's answer was, "I want to be a butterfly and fly next to my mommy's van."

I think her answer is different now. lol

I've always been fascinated with our daughter. She uses both sides of her brain. Her left side using logic and carrying her to amazing academic heights through her public school years. Her right side taking her creatively through art classes, cheerleading, ballet, and then on to color guard in her high school marching band. Watching her gracefully perform made her momma's heart proud.

She's in university now and just finished her spring break at home with us last week. Today she's back in her apartment anticipating a phone call from us singing happy birthday to her.

I thank God for our daughter.
I pray for her daily asking God to protect her, guide her, and grant her wisdom while she finishes this semester.

God

Danced

the

day you

were born

You are loved.

You are beautiful.

You are Gift of God,

His own possession.

You are Gift to

all mankind,

His Gift of love

to them.

You are His.

by Richard Kramer

Another chapter has come to a close in our lives. We say goodbye to the teen years. Bring on the 20sssssssss!

Have you opened a new chapter in your life?